The mesolimbic dopamine system—which originates in the ventral tegmental area and
projects to the striatum—has been shown to be involved in the expression of sex-specific …

This article reviews evidence for sex differences in vulnerability to addiction with an
emphasis on the neural mechanisms underlying these differences. Sex differences in the …

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) comprises a group of neurodevelopmental disorders
characterized by social deficits and stereotyped behaviors. Despite intensive research, its …

The striatal dopamine system has long been studied in the context of reward learning,
motivation, and movement. Given the prominent role dopamine plays in a variety of adaptive …

Disrupted operation of the reward circuitry underlies many aspects of affective disorders.
Such disruption may manifest as aberrant behavior including risk taking, depression …

Many neuronal populations that release fast-acting excitatory and inhibitory
neurotransmitters in the brain also contain slower-acting neuropeptides. These facultative …

Background Corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) neural systems are important stress
mechanisms in the central amygdala (CeA), bed nucleus of stria terminalis (BNST), nucleus …

Addiction is a chronic relapsing disorder with devastating personal, societal, and economic
consequences. In humans, early‐life adversity (ELA) such as trauma, neglect, and resource …

Individuals frequently differ in their behavioral and cognitive responses to stress. However,
whether motivation is differently affected by acute stress in different individuals remains to be …

Genome editing of somatic cells via clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic
repeats (CRISPR) offers promise for new therapeutics to treat a variety of genetic disorders …